cultural/spiritual practice

[ap Oweyn]

Let's see if we can get some activity on this forum. I'm wondering what cultural or spiritual practices people bring to their silat. By that, I mean that it's possible to practice the mechanics of silat independent of the various cultural trappings (e.g., uniforms and regalia, salutations, terminology, etc.). I've seen it happen with FMA as well. People can practice the knife skills, stick skills, etc. without necessarily embracing the culture.

So how central do you think those things are to your practice of silat?

[Ular Sawa]

Well of course you can practice without trappings. They are just trappings after all (uniforms, salutations, etc.)

That being said, there are parts of Silat practice that are spiritual in nature and these are not trappings. An appreciation of the animal basis if you are practicing tiger or snake for example. You can practice the mechanics without this part but you'll not have an understanding of the roots of the art and you will be limited to your mechanical practice. The movement in Silat is far from mechanical in my own experience.

Mind you, I'm only speaking from my own practice and am compelled to point out once again that Silat is a generic term that describes hundreds of different systems from Indonesia & Malaysia.

[Rebo Paing]

Ular Sawa is correct.
To add to his perspective, in my opinion there is some general misunderstanding arising from the language we think in. In the west particularly, silat is seen as a specific set of movement/martial skills from SE Asia. There are others who see silat as something quite static. These are the modern 'traditionalists' who play with an embalmed version of a sub-section of something that existed in a previous time & milieu. IMO what they zero in on is only a very small part of what silat culture originally was.
From a Javanese (language) context, my family don't think twice about the word 'silat' meaning anything special that sets it apart from any other martial art per-se. To us silat is the sum total of our survival skills, which incorporates/includes movement skills. We call it silat because that is the descriptor in our language.
My compass has been my father and grandmother, as I now take on that role for my children. However in the footsteps of my teachers, I have also actively absorbed from many sources through my life and I expect that of my children as well when their time comes to carry on the tradition.
For us silat is a living framework similar to the idea of linux with it's many distros, there is core practice (mind, body-method & principle - the kernel) and then there are the various applications which can be expanded on, extended or even copied (stolen) from a huge variety of sources ... from the latest research in body science, diet, meditation techniques etc to extrapolating a hip throw. In this way on the surface of it the cultural and spiritual outlook of my family silat tradition hasn't changed, even while to some extent the nuts and bolts of it has i.e. I'm not animistic as my grandmother was.

P.S. We don't dress up in 'traditional' garb either, except where (in the case of some in my family) that is the way they dress on a daily basis ;o).

[ap Oweyn]

Terrific posts, both of you! Thanks.

I hope it's clear that when I said "trappings," I wasn't belittling those things. I only meant "things beyond the mechanical application of technique." I should have phrased that better. But I was on short time and wanted to generate some discussion. Mea culpa. ("My fault," in keeping with my recent post about foreign languages ;) )

Personally, I'm a big advocate of those sorts of cultural insights. In the past, I've been one of those guys who tried to strip the technique from the source. And now, I've done a 180 on that count.

[Zaad]

i was watching a documentary about some groups in [the Philippines] using talismans to increase their ability and invulnerability will practicing FMA
i have read somewhere about people trying to get "animal possession" in silat styles.

those are spiritual trapping though. some cultural trapping you cant strip away, e.g. if your strip the technique from the weapon it doesnt really work.
certain weapons belong to certain cultures e.g. european broad sword or the sikh/hindu chakram or the various japanese weapons.
those techniques and weapons come from specific cultures and there are certain traditions that follow them.

so yeah 180

[ap Oweyn]

The talisman is known as "anting anting" in the Philippines. "Orasyon" is another variation on the theme.

[Zaad]

i've also heard that "gingering" is a spiritual practice connected to FMA and silat.

interesting stuff this

[ap Oweyn]

i've also heard that "gingering" is a spiritual practice connected to FMA and silat.

interesting stuff this

Not familiar with that term, I'm afraid.

[Zaad]

Not many styles, methods, or systems cover these twelve categories. Some have only a few, and others focus on alternative techniques, empha- sizing other skills. For example, the skill category can instead include heal- ing arts and metaphysics. Healing arts and metaphysics are a “higher un- derstanding” of the Filipino martial traditions. Healing arts are linked to the FMA, but are not integrated with training methods as they are in the Chinese martial arts. The former include massage or chiropractic (hilot, kiropraktika), herbalism, and faith healing. Hence, Rosita M. Lim is a
Philippines 431
curer (seruhana, arbolaryo) and chiropractor (manughilot), but not an FMA practitioner. She uses massage, exorcism, and incense to heal people, but her skill is “gingering.” Gingering uses prayers to transfer evil spirits into a ginger root, which is discarded with the trapped spiritual essence. The metaphysics (lubos) include anting-anting (amulet, charm), kalaki, orasyon (prayers), and palabras (words). In the metaphysics associated with Filipino martial arts in the Philippines, overt Catholic religiosity is lay- ered onto a substratum of Huna magic. Huna (secret) is a Polynesian prac- tice, says Max Freedom Long (1965). Kalaki, meaning “abilities,” is asso- ciated with practitioners of the native martial arts. Eskrimadores are known as mystics, faith healers, and sorcerers, using mesmerism and visu- alization (larawan). Thus, the potent anting-anting can be made from the kneecaps of deceased persons. Grave robbers dig up such “treasures,” which then are made into a belt or necklace. Warriors prepare themselves for victory or death before combat using orasyon, with palabras (spells) and incantations worked against sworn enemies.

From "Martial Arts of the World"

[ap Oweyn]

Let's move any further discussion of FMA over to the appropriate forum in deference to the silat posters. Sorry gang.

I'd move the existing posts over, but I've got to get back to my real job for a bit. Bear with me.

[jpgayong]

I don't think you have to practice the art with the culture. BUT you should understand the culutre where your art came from. I personally do a Malaysian Style of Silat in the USA. I take what is adaptable to the USA but still maintain the cultural identity of the art of study. If you don't understand where the art comes from, I think you're missing a huge chunk of the understanding of the art no matter where it comes from.

I've not heard of "gingering" before...
Jen